Today I read a reasonably good chunk of a book on Woodrow Wilson, and it reminded me of a lot of dark thoughts I have about our contemporary political scene. It is remarkable how little has changed in the last century as far as the larger currents of our political culture. In so much of our affairs in this world we have to balance on a knife’s edge between numerous false dilemmas and ditches. Take, for example, the false dilemma that Woodrow Wilson was a part of in the early 20th century. There was a contention between a blind sort of lassiez-faire traditionalism that allowed for the elites to behave corruptly and a “Progressive” insistence in more powerful government because of their belief that the times were too complicated for freedom, because they did not trust people to do be able to act themselves, and because they considered themselves to be the natural leaders of society, fit to rule like Plato’s philosopher kings.

Of course, this is a lie. Those who would presume to regulate society in an orderly fashion are themselves at least as corrupt, if not more corrupt, as those whom they seek to regulate. And those who seek for a freedom from all restraint do so not out of a concern for proper liberty, but out of a desire to be free to win with impunity. How then, are we to balance on this knife’s edge between these extremes? In life there seems to be little escape between the dilemma of tyranny and anarchy, between the threats of moral chaos and the breakdown of families and other institutions that leads many to seek a powerful government in the hope that it can provide for us, despite the manifest incompetence of that government in every attempt it has made. For most people, the drive for security is so powerful that it overwhelms all rational calculation because it appears as if there are no better options.

For there to be any option besides tyranny and anarchy, virtue is required. The reasons for this are simple. Tyranny and anarchy are the two faces of Satan’s dominion. Often the two work in conjunction with each other, each of them using the other extreme to justify themselves. As it would happen, the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons [1] discussed a long-running duel between devils and demons, one side being chaotic and the other side being “lawful,” the age-old duel between tyrants and anarchists for control of the realm of evil. Generally speaking, tyrants win because order allows for a greater coordination of effort, though when trust breaks down it allows space for anarchy to develop (as is the case in areas like Somalia and Afghanistan), anarchy that can be humanly impossible to overcome.

What are we to do about it? How are we to preserve virtue, in a corrupt world, such that we neither are a force leading to the breakdown of institutions like families and churches and communities, nor tyrannical bullies to others as well. This is not an easy task, nor one I am necessarily skilled at, but it is something that I recognize the importance of as I look around every aspect of my life and that of those around me. We can all stand to be better at helping to provide others with hope and encouragement during dark times, to avoid despair and choosing either to oppress others or to destroy the bonds that unite us together and make life worth living. Somehow we have to find our way along the knife’s edge, showing even in difficult times that there are options besides chaos and tyranny, so that we may help to shine a light in a world all too often consumed by darkness.

[1] http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Outer_Planes_%283.5e_Environment%29